The first thousand one hundred and ninety-seven chapters
Outside Huaiyin City, artillery roared and gunshots were fired. The position was shrouded in billowing smoke. The guerrilla officers and soldiers came up in batches for reinforcements, and the wounded were constantly being sent down.
The Japanese suddenly appeared in Huaiyin, which caught the Huaiyin defenders off guard. Fortunately, the troops stabilized the defense line and did not allow the Japanese to break into the city.
"The situation has been clarified. The attacking Japanese are the Yamaguchi Infantry Brigade coming from the direction of Yancheng, not the Japanese coming from Baoying."
With the efforts of the intelligence department, Zhang Liechen and the others finally figured out the situation of the incoming Japanese at dawn.
"Aren't the troops of the 8th Security Brigade monitoring this group of Japs? Why did they suddenly arrive in Huaiyin? The 8th Brigade didn't react at all."
Upon hearing that they were Japanese soldiers from the Yamaguchi Brigade, Deputy Captain Yuan Guangtao couldn't help but frown.
Zhang Liechen said helplessly: "I'm afraid the kid built the plank road secretly in Chen Cang and deceived the spy of the Eighth Security Brigade."
"There are more than a thousand Japanese, and they are well prepared with mountain cannons. We may have to prepare for the worst and immediately organize the people and factories to evacuate before the Japanese encircle us."
Although the defense has been stabilized at this moment, the situation is still not optimistic, Zhang Liechen said worriedly.
Deputy Captain Yuan Guangtao shook his head and said: "Huaiyin is the last city in our guerrilla zone. If we lose it again, we will have no foothold. Therefore, I oppose evacuation. Once the people are organized to evacuate, it will weaken the morale of the frontline troops."
Shaken, causing the situation to worsen."
Yuan Guangtao looked at the people attending the meeting and said: "At this critical moment, we cannot be weaklings. The military and civilians must unite as one, fight for every inch of land, and not give up an inch of land to defend Huaiyin."
"Captain Yuan, I understand your feelings. I also want to defend Huaiyin, but our troops have just withdrawn from Baoying without rest and replenishing ammunition. Holding Huaiyin now is like hitting a stone with an egg. My suggestion is to first cover the evacuation of the Baoying factory.
Then give up Huaiyin and temporarily avoid the enemy."
Zhang Liechen had always implemented Yang Ling's guerrilla warfare, which was to focus on destroying the enemy's effective forces regardless of the gains and losses of a city or a place.
"I don't agree. When Commander Yang ordered us to voluntarily withdraw from Baoying to fight guerrillas, the result was that not only Baoying fell, but the troops were also chased and intercepted by Japanese soldiers in the countryside and were almost annihilated. This is a bloody lesson."
"We can still fight against the Japanese by relying on Huaiyin, but once we abandon Huaiyin, we will become homeless ghosts."
"I think we should focus on preserving our strength and not fight head-on with the Japanese," Liu Zhi, commander of the fifth battalion, said.
"The devils have beaten you to your doorstep, and you still have so much strength to spare."
...
Yang Ling has not returned to Huaiyin yet, and everyone is leaderless. Some of the staff officers and battalion commanders who did not participate in the war want to defend, and some want to evacuate. They have been arguing for a long time but they have not come up with an idea.
The deputy captain Yuan Guangtao and the other deputy captain Zhang Liechen also refused to give in to each other. One wanted to withdraw and the other wanted to defend. In the end, the impromptu meeting broke up unhappy, and they had to spend time with the little devil first.
"Go see the first and second battalion commanders and ask them for their opinions."
Zhang Liechen did not want to defend, but now he lacked support, so he had to send people to the front line to find the first battalion commander Blacksmith and the second battalion commander Wu Changqing.
After all, these two battalion commanders are considered old men of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps, and they each command their own troops. If we get their support, things will be much easier to handle.
Zhang Liechen once defended Qinghe Town in Huaiyin and was almost wiped out by the Japs. If Yang Ling had not arrived in time, reorganized the troops and repelled the Japs, he would have been doomed. He did not want to make the same mistake this time.
Therefore, he advocated that regardless of the gains and losses of a city or a place, conserving strength and fighting guerrillas with the Japanese was the right way.
The deputy captain Yuan Guangtao had other thoughts. He already knew that the attacker was a Japanese infantry brigade, not Baoying's main Japanese force, so he was not very nervous.
After staying in the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps for a long time, he fought and won many battles. He also developed some feelings of underestimating the enemy. He felt that as long as it was properly arranged, it was more than enough to deal with a mere Japanese infantry brigade.
Now that Yang Ling is not here, he is the highest military commander. If he abandons the city and flees like this, he will bear the brunt of the investigation if the authorities pursue him.
But if he defends Huaiyin and repels the Japs, then he will have a great achievement. If he is lucky enough to annihilate the Japs' infantry brigade and achieve a complete victory like the Jieshou Victory, then his status will rise.
"Send people to strictly guard all intersections leaving the city. No one is allowed to leave without my order." The deputy captain had already made up his mind to defend to the end.
"Send a report to the theater headquarters that the Japanese invaded Huaiyin, and the commander Yang Ling has not returned. I will lead the troops to resist to the end and ensure that Huaiyin is not lost..."
As the saying goes, wealth can be found in danger, and deputy captain Yuan Guangtao is now ready to give it a try. If he wins, he will be able to rise to great heights with this merit.
"You also go back and secure your positions. If you repel the Japanese this time, I will personally ask for credit from the theater headquarters for you."
Finally, Deputy Captain Yuan Guangtao turned his attention to Fourth Battalion Commander Xie Zhengxiang and Fifth Battalion Commander Liu Zhi.
These two people were transferred from the theater headquarters to the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps together with him, and they can be regarded as people on the same front.
"Yes!" Both of them agreed one after another, and then returned to their respective positions.
Now the Japanese troops are attacking at the south gate. In other directions, they only found the Japanese reconnaissance cavalry and signs of troops attacking. Therefore, the defense areas of the 4th and 5th Battalions are temporarily safe.
Fourth Battalion Commander Xie Zhengxiang's defense area is at the east gate. Two companies are placed in positions outside the city. The other three company commanders are placed on the city wall to build a defense line. His headquarters is in a private house next to the city gate.
Now that Yang Ling is away, the two deputy captains have difficulty in unifying their opinions, and the entire command system is in chaos. This makes Fourth Battalion Commander Xie Zhengxiang feel unsure.
Although the current intelligence shows that there is only one Japanese group of more than a thousand people attacking, who knows if there will be more Japanese coming.
Xie Zhengxiang didn't want to defend Huaiyin. After all, the Japanese had brought artillery, and their machine guns and their meager possessions were not enough for the Japanese.
Xie Zhengxiang knew very well that in these turbulent years, if you have guns and talents, you can live a comfortable life no matter where you go. If you spend all your money, you will have nothing.
But now that deputy captain Yuan Guangtao wanted to persist in resisting, he had no choice but to take it one step at a time. If he really couldn't hold on, it was important to save his life.
"Batalion Commander, your cousin is here again."
When Fourth Battalion Commander Xie Zhengxiang returned to the battalion headquarters worriedly and just sat down, a guard came in to report.
"Cousin, that cousin?" Xie Zhengxiang didn't react for a while and asked with a frown.
The guard reminded: "It's the one you saw at Jieshou."